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Cookies

09/23/2011

Oh, it has been too long. We have been on two vacations, and our oldest is now back to nursery school for N-I-N-E hours a week. You’d think that much time with just one child to look after would open up a world of possibilities. It does, but unfortunately not the possibility of drooling into a hot oven or relaxing on the Internets. Oh, toddlers. They are just so wiggly.

Any-who, I have been finding the time to do mama meals for some buddies, which is really just an excuse to test out oatmeal cookie recipes. It seems like a good time of year for them, wholesome, hearty, nutty, and spicey, a little introduction to fall.

This recipe is my new fave. They are crisp at the edges, moist and soft at the center. I know raisins are controversial. Personally, I love them, but I realize this puts me in a sad minority. Granted, if you gave the choice between raisins and chocolate, I’d choose chocolate every time. (Hello!) But, I did want to keep this a little on the healthy-ish side. Because I married a raisin-phobe, I used golden raisins and currents, a much tastier combo. I’m a sucker for golden raisins in cookies, they make them so chewy delicious! But, if you are not sold on my super delicious raisin but not raisin substitute, feel free to use chocolate instead. No doubt, a little chocolate never hurt a cookie.

In a medium bowl, sift together the whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, then whisk in the salt.

Place the butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is brown and fragrant. This should take a few minutes. Pour the butter over the oats, stir in the sugars, egg, and vanilla. Gently fold in the flour mixture. When the flour is almost entirely incorporated, add the pecans, golden raisins, and currents. Continue to fold until everything is well combined.

Refrigerate dough for two hours, or overnight is better if you have the time and self restrain to not eat the dough;)(The dough gets very firm when cool, so it is easier to portion out the cookies before they are refrigerated. If you do this, put the balls of dough on a parchment lined dish, before wrapping with plastic wrap, just so the cooled dough does not stick to your dish.)

Preheat oven to 350º F., and line sheet pans with parchment paper. Scoop dough by 2 rounded tablespoons, and place 6 to a pan. Press cookies down gently. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.

08/28/2011

I have a love of lists. Really, I’d be hopelessly lost without them. My grocery lists are organized by where I will find the item in the store. This leaves little room for impulse purchases, but a little bag of buckwheat flour worked its way into my cart last week.

I’ve been meaning to experiment with some gluten free baking, and I am a lover of buckwheat. Hello crapes! Soba noodles, yum.

Shortbread seemed like a good way to go, but the color of buckwheat is not exactly super pretty. Cocoa powder, on the other hand, looks a lot like everything good in the world. I subbed the buckwheat flour for all purpose flour in my favorite chocolate shortbread recipe. That was it, an even swap. It worked like a charm. Gluten free, and if there is any bit of a difference from the original it is maybe a slightly nutty undertone. Lovely, moist, and delicate, they did not last more than a day in our house.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar, and beat until satiny. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three additions, stopping to scrap down the sides of the bowl. Do not over mix, and just bring the dough to a crumby state.

Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface, and knead until everything comes together. Divide the dough in two equal parts; form each into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or more.

Preheat the oven to 350° F, and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Roll dough out until it is about ½ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes, the simpler the better, as they will spread slightly in the oven. Bake for about 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are a little firm to the touch. Let cool slightly on a rack, and enjoy!

05/16/2011

The secret here is honey. It gives these cookies a bit of moisture, making them almost brownie-like in texture.

The other day, at one of my favorite fancy pants grocery stores, I told Harper she could pick out any dessert she wanted. I steered her in the direction of an organic chocolate and graham cracker bar, but she opted for a dark chocolate and earl grey candy bar. I think it was more the green packaging than anything else…

Any-who, although the chocolate was lovely, there was something a little soapy or too perfumey about the flavor combination. I had to try it again for myself, because it looked so good on paper. Somehow, the earl grey and chocolate works better in cookie form for me. It is not so perfumey or soapy at all, just flavorful, rich and lovely.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa. Finally chop tea leaves in a food processor, or grind into a powder in a mortar and pestle. Whisk the tea leaves and salt into the flour mixture.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and honey. Add the flour mixture in three additions, stopping to scrap down the sides of the bowl. Do not over mix, and just bring the dough to a crumby state.

Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until everything is well incorporated and comes together. Divide the dough in two equal parts. Roll each half into a log, about 2 inches in diameter. Take care to thoroughly squish your log together, so you don’t get a hole in the center. (If you end up with a hollow spot, don’t worry. The shortbreads will taste the same, jut not look as pretty.) Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (Dough will keep in the fridge for four days or in the freezer for about two months.)

Preheat the oven to 350° F, and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Slice your logs into ½ inch thick rounds, and bake for about 13 minutes, until the edges are firm to the touch. Let cool and enjoy!

05/05/2011

Yes. That is right; there is wheat flour in my sugar cookie. Originally I added it to make them a little bit healthier. Although, giving small children espresso laden chocolate cookies was probably not a bright idea, even if they had some whole wheat. I really like the texture the wheat flour adds. It gives an otherwise fluffy little cookie some texture, density.

They are crisp at the edges, and soft and moist in the middle, my fave. And, oh so chocolaty! You could roll them out and make super cute cookies. Or, slice and bake them at your leisure.

These were not terribly cooled when I sliced them, which is why they are a bit wonky. The longer you can let the dough firm up in the fridge, the better, but they will still taste super yum.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar. While the butter creams, sift together the flours. Whisk in the salt. Once the butter and brown sugar are light and fluffy, add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and instant espresso. Mix well. Sift the cocoa powder into the wet ingredients, and mix until incorporated. Pulse in the flour mixture in three additions, stopping to scrape down the bowl and paddle attachment.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and work into a ball. Divide into two equal parts, and form into disks for roll our cookies, or logs about 2 inches thick for slice and bake cookies. Refrigerate for at least an hour, but the longer the better.

Preheat oven to 350º F, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Roll dough out to ¼ inch thick, or slice cookies about ¼ inch thick. Bake cookies for about 12 minutes, until the edges are firm. Enjoy! Cookies will keep easily for a week at room temperature in an airtight container, and for longer in the fridge.

04/17/2011

Just one more! Did you see it coming? The best of both worlds: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Stripy Shortbread. Dreams do come true.

If you have been following along, then you already have a log of chocolate shortbread and peanut butter shortbread in your freezer or fridge, and this will be a synch. If not, this may take a while… You will need ½ of each of the chocolate and peanut butter shortbread recipe. (Each recipe makes enough for 2 logs. When you make them, form the dough into one log, for slice and bake, and one disk for stripy. Or, you could do two disks for two batches of stripy cookies.) If you already have a log, you can roll that out, too. A disk is just a bit easier to get going.

This is less of a recipe as it is assembling instructions. It is not unlike making a sandwich, just a bit more labor incisive.

Roll out each of the peanut butter and chocolate shortbread dough into a 5 x 10 inch rectangle.

Brush each side with the egg white mixed with water, and sandwich the dough together.

Cut the dough in half, so you have two 5 x 5 inch squares, and then in half again, to make four 5 x 2 ½ inch strips.

Stack the strips, brushing the egg white mixture between the layers as you go.Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour. (You can skip this step if your dough it still cool and very firm. If it is a bit warm and/or soft, this will make it much easier and prettier to slice.)

Preheat the oven to 350° F., and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Slice dough into ½ inch thick slices and bake for about 10 minutes, rotating the pan ½ though baking, until slightly brown at the edges. (You may want to trim up your stacked dough, to make it a bit more rectangular. If you are like me, the less perfect edges are reserved for the chef (you!).